Time Warner Cable shares spiked more than 6 percent on Thursday after a Liberty Media executive indicated that a Time Warner Cable-Charter Communications deal remained a real possibility.

Liberty became the largest shareholder in Charter Communications when it acquired a 27 percent stake in May.

Time Warner Cable shares closed up $6.68, to $116.95.

John Malone, board chairman of Liberty Media, has been on a mission this year to consolidate the cable TV industry.

Malone’s media holding company made an offer for Time Warner Cable over the summer, but was rebuffed.

At the investor conference in New York on Thursday, the Liberty Media executive said Time Warner Cable’s industry-lagging stock performance wasn’t likely to improve over the next year, suggesting Liberty still sees the opportunity for a deal.

Time Warner Cable declined to comment, according to reports.

Meanwhile, Malone said in his presentation Thursday that cable companies should team up to create a rival to Netflix that would deliver programming over the Internet on a national basis.